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Re: Life Duty Death
Javilk (javilk@shell1.best.com)
16 Sep 1995 10:12:35 GMT
Jim Brewster (jmb31@cornell.edu) wrote:
: In article <438rv0$51s@shellx.best.com>, javilk@shell1.best.com (Javilk) wrote:
: [Many interesting points snipped in the name of bandwidth]
: >
: >
: > Each nation has the right to be soverein. Each peoples has the right to
: > be free. These may be, at times, in conflict. But it is better to have
: > them in conflict, than to forgo one or the other!
: >.......
: > I beg your pardon? Whom did we steal our homes from? We offer the
: > world trade. The world accepts our offer, and the offers of many others.
: > In some governmental systems, patronage, nepotism, and other things
: > which we democratic people call FRAUD, is rampant. (Not so say we don't
: > have some degree of this here too!) It is not America's position to
: > overthrow every corrupt nation's government. The people of each nation
: > have a duty TO THEMSELVES, to arrainge their affairs to maximize their own
: > benefits. If they do not do so, if they put up with corrupt leaders, that
: > is THEIR problem.
: In fact, America's position has been to support corrupt governments and
: overthrow less corrupt ones based primarily on their receptiveness to
: economic imperialism. Governments that are not favorable to US corporate
: interests are pressured by all means at our disposal to fall in line. Look
: at our covert wars in Central America during the 1980's, and our lingering
: warlike policy toward Cuba.
I never did say we were lilley white. However, we were looking more at
stemming the spread of a totalitarian organization that wanted to do mind
control on the entire world. In my humble opinion, we did not always go
about it in the best way.
Nevertheless, Reagan said "no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so
formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women." Inspired
by his leadership, (not difficult given his predicess]or,) WE, the people
of America, again proved it to be so. (As we had before under Kennedy.)
Do recall that the worst pollution is in the former soviet union, where
primitive tribesmen graze in radioactive nuclear test regions, and have so
many birth defects that over half the children born, soon die. Or
industrial regions with air pollution so bad that most people have lung
problems. When a people are not free to complain about the quality of
their own lives, that quality goes to hades as their masters push them to
produce what ever it is that their masters want. When you have a choice
between the psychiatric hospital for their favorite "sluggish
schizophrenia", or trashing the environment as per instruction, you might
prefer trashing the environment. It became a habit out there.
Today, the peoples of Russia are slowly awakening and recovering.
They still have troubles with the kind of Spiritual Pollution, in part
because some of the organizations opposing communism were about as ethical
as communism was.
: You seem to assume that this is an even playing field, that people and
: governments actually have or know how to use the power to "arrange their
: affairs to maximize their own benefits." It's like telling a homeless
: person to get a job, ignoring how the cards are stacked.
It never is a level playing field. But at some point, a people have to
stand up and do something. You can not invade a country and make them
free if the people don't want to BE free. (I think we have tried this in
the past...) History is full of rebellions against unfavorable
governments.
As for homeless people, I often visit metals recyclers. Plenty of
homeless people work, both as employees there, and as scavengers
collecting aluminum cans, scrap metal, dumpster diving at various
companies for metals and discarded equipment, etc. And STILL sleep in
boxes behind buildings, etc.
Stress wears funny habits in to the brain. Some of these homeless
people actually prefer remaining homeless. Neither I, nor the metals
recylery owner understand why. Others, more often those who are free of
mental deficits and stay free of drugs and alcohol, are homeless for only
a short period of time. I have seen homeless people with pagers, waiting
for that call for yet another temporary job, and others with business
licenses so they could legally buy and sell used things from their shopping
cart or other cart!
It is clear that many of the LONG TERM homeless seem to have serious
personality disorders, often exacerbated by particularly alcoholism or
drug use. Having worked with some of the others, I will repeat that the
others, those with only marginal personality quirks and free of drugs and
alcohol, tend not to stay homeless for long.
One of these homeless people was a reasonably high quality programmer.
His story was that his divorce alimony left him without enough money to
afford housing. I have heard similar stories, belavably, from others as
well. Often, they go through a period of living in their cars till things
get squared away, legal motions re-filed by free lawyers, etc. Others,
simply give up on the legal system, and prefer to stay homeless. This
fellow showed me how to spot homeless people living in cars. Go to any
area off the main roads around a gym that has showers, and look beat up
cars that are parked there over night. Someone is sleeping in many of
those cars. Many of them have some line of work they pursue.
Then there is another homeless person I known. This one does part time
(more than 20 hours a week, I believe,) work at the scrap yard, breaking
up metals and bottles. He is sometimes drunk, clearly not well balanced
mentally, always talking out loud to himself in a futile kind of way, etc.
He also scavenges the area dumpsters for scrap metal, guides other
homeless scavengers to the scrap yard, fixes and sells bicycles etc. He
clearly makes enough to live in an apartment sharing or group home
situation. Those kinds of facilities are available. Instead, he prefers
to sleep behind a resteraunt or other places. His comment was that there
is none of the hassle of having to deal with others. (Except, that is,
from the police who always hassle the homeless.)
It is a strange world. You are basically free to make of it what you
wish. Some simply refuse to accept responsibility. Some prefer blaming
others for all their ills. Then there are those who see taking
responsibility as the fastest way to make something of their lives. I
tend to favor the latter, and favor the kind of people who favor the
latter. They tend not to stay down very long, and generally make much
better company.
-J- (Javilk@best.com)------------------------------------------------
Think Manageable, Think Personal, Think Responsible, Think Pagan. ---
Then take what actions may help all, and hurt none. -----------------
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